1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a barrier gate or door to prevent access to a restricted or dangerous area such as an elevator or hoistway shaft, particularly for commercial applications wherein the barrier gate or door is frequently damaged by contact with heavy operating equipment or vehicles. More particularly, the subject invention pertains to a barrier gate or door as described which is constructed with a resilient and flexible structure such that it is not easily damaged by impacts by heavy operating equipment or vehicles.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Vehicular garages, warehouses, and other material handling facilities frequently utilize elevators in their operations. The elevators are typically constructed with safety doors or barrier gates which are closed except when loading or unloading the elevator to provide for the safety of the workers. One problem with this arrangement is that the material being handled, the loading equipment, or vehicles sometimes accidentally contact and damage the doors and/or the door operating mechanisms rendering the elevator useless with a consequential adverse impact on the entire commercial operation.
As a result of this incapacitation and the extreme urgency of continuity of commercial operations, safety circuits are frequently bypassed in one manner or another and the elevator is operated with the barrier doors open, producing an extremely hazardous condition.
Conventional barrier doors or gates are constructed of and are mounted on and guided by rigid structural materials which often become permanently bent, ruptured, or destroyed at the time of impact. Through the years, these structures have been designed to be stronger and more rigid, and as a consequence thereof, if the door or its mountings does not deform under the impact, the entire wall sometimes caves in.